treywillwest
This feels like the last in an unintended "battle of the sexes" trilogy, along with Viridiana and Tristana, by Bunuel in which the female goes from passive victim to victimizer. Interestingly only the middle film, in which the title lady goes from being abused to a kind of empowered martyrdom, manages not to feel a tad misogynistic. If Viridiana is the most cinematically satisfying, and Tristana the most fully formed narrative, this sign-off from the auteur is my personal favorite. Here, the filmmaker seems less driven by ideology or anti-dogma as by sheer misanthropy. No longer trying to dispel the world of its romantic and spiritual delusions, the maestro now just wants to watch humanity blow itself up. But, like the work of great, angry poets and songwriters, Bunuel makes his hatred of life seem empowering, paradoxically enlivening.
disinterested_spectator
I always knew I was not good with faces, but I didn't realize just how bad I was until I watched this movie. It was only after I finished watching the movie and read a review on it that I found out that Conchita was played by two different actresses in regularly alternating scenes. Once I read that, I could immediately remember the difference, though I had not noticed it at the time. In fact, there was even a scene in which a third woman, who happened to be a brunette, made an appearance, and I thought she was Conchita too. Apparently the purpose was to have one actress play Conchita when she wants to have sex and the other actress when she does not.Anyway, we see some terrorism. Then, Mathieu, a middle-aged man, tries to seduce Conchita, his maid, on her first day on the job, which is creepy (today we would call it sexual harassment). She quits as a result, but he keeps pursuing her (today we would call it stalking).And then we see some more terrorism. Our disgust for him as a lecher soon turns to pity, because she keeps egging him on, promising, enticing, getting naked, rubbing her body on him, but he must not have sex with her, because she is virgin and she is saving herself for him and that ought to be enough for him and besides, what kind of girl does he think she is anyway?More terrorism. The movie proves there is no fool like an old fool, because he buys her a house to win her love, but she locks him out and has sex with her lover while he watches from outside.You guessed it, some more terrorism. He finally gets fed up and says he knows God will never forgive her. But then he forgives her, and they get back together. But wait! They start arguing again. Suddenly a bomb goes off in the marketplace blowing them to bits.Thank goodness for terrorism.
FilmCriticLalitRao
There is no Aristotelian middle path for films directed by Luis Buñuel as they are either adored by his admirers or intensely disliked by his detractors. As a film, "That Obscure Object of Desire" might irritate you to a very large extent but it would never bore you. It is the mysterious tale of an old man who would go to any extent to make love to a mysterious young woman. His troubles start when he comes across two women in different forms who are believed to represent the sole woman of his erotic fantasies. Those who have studied psychology might see a reflection of Freudian theory in the film but it is far more simple than what one can expect it to be. It works well as the story of an old man whose very objective in his life is to make love to a beautiful woman. Although the theme of this film might appear as a cruel, bad joke, Jean Claude Carrière-screenwriter and Luis Buñuel ensure that the film discusses all key elements of the time during which it was shot. This is the reason why there is plenty of religion, sex and terrorism in the film.
billcr12
Luis Bunuel makes challenging films. This is a romance with a twist, two actresses playing the same woman interchangeably. A rich man, Mathieu, and Conchita, a beautiful flamenco dancer and his object of desire are in a volatile relationship from the start.Using flashbacks to explain why Mathieu dumps a bucket of water over Conchita's head while riding on a train; it is a very funny comedy. When he first meets her, she claims to be eighteen, and a virgin. She teases him endlessly and when he finally lures her into bed, she is wearing a corset so tight that he can't remove it, giving him a major case of blue balls. They break up and reunite several times. He sees her dancing nude at a night club, but still takers her back and buys her a house. She locks him out and lets him observe her having sex with another guy. Although she later claims that the sex was fake, he beats her. This causes her to say that he must really love her. When the train stops they leave together, arm in arm. The ending is a big surprise and unexpected. Excellent work from Banuel.
AD
